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A Psychologist is asking game developers to alter their games to help players who have video game addiction problems. Video Game Addiction: Are Developers to Blame?

Here is an excerpt from the original story that this commentary is based off of from Eurogamer

A cyber psychologist has called on the developers of massively multiplayer online role-playing games to help prevent addiction by tweaking their design.

Dr Zaheer Hussain, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Derby, called on MMORPG designers to look into the structure of their games, and suggested shortening long quests.

The recommendation was made in “Social responsibility in online video gaming: What should the videogame industry do?”, a new study authored by Dr Hussain, Dr Shumaila Yousafzai from the Cardiff Business School and Professor Mark Griffiths, of Nottingham Trent University and director of the International Gaming Research Unit.

The study, published in the Addiction Research and Theory journal, recommended developers reconsider the structure of their games in order to avoid government intervention of a kind seen in Asia.

The study said some gamers play up to 90 hours a session, developing a “pathological” addiction. A distinction was made between video games with an ending and MMORPGs, which do not. The researchers said around seven to 11 per cent of players were considered “pathological” gamers.

Dr Hussain said: “As a first step online game developers and publishers need to look into the structural features of the game design, for example the character development, rapid absorption rate, and multiplayer features which could make them addictive and or problematic for some gamers.

“One idea could be to shorten long quests to minimise the time spent in the game obtaining a certain prized item.”

In a BBC report, UKIE boss Dr Jo Twist responded to the study, saying: “There is no medical diagnosis of game addiction but like anything enjoyable in life, some people play games excessively.”

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Addicted to Video Games? Blame Developers

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Are Video Games Bad for Your Eyes?

TwTheRedDragon — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 06:22:42 +0000

Are Video Games Bad for your health and Eyes? I always heard this growing up, so I decided to see if there was any truth to this statement. As it turns out – Video games may actually IMPROVE your vision. QUESTION EVERYTHING

Parents of young children might find it hard to believe, but playing video games could be good for your eyes.

Just ten hours of gaming for four weeks dramatically improved the vision of young men and women who as babies were almost blind.

After 40 hours of playing a violent video game, they were able to read two extra lines on an eye chart.

The simple but effective treatment was devised by Daphne Maurer, of McMaster University in Canada.

The men and women studied were born with cataracts in both eyes and as babies could see light but not detail.

Although their cataracts were removed, their vision did not return to normal.

When they were aged between 19 and 31, they took part in the study, which involved playing an action game in which they took on the role of a solider shooting the enemy or a gunman firing at aliens.

Some saw improvements in vision after just 10 hours.

After 40 hours, they able to see further down the eye chart, be better at distinguishing the direction of a movement and at telling faces apart.

Source:

Daily Mail: 40 hours of playing violent videos actually IMPROVED the sight of young gamers

NYT: How Video Games could Improve your Vision

LiveScience: Video Games Improve Adult Lazy Eye

LiveScience: Action Video Games Improve Vision

VGN: VideoGamesAndNews

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Human Microchip Implants for your Brain – New Obesity Treatment

TwTheRedDragon — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:11:26 +0000

UK-based scientists have designed an ‘intelligent’ microchip which they claim can suppress appetite. Animal trials of the electronic implant are about to begin and its makers say it could provide a more effective alternative to weight-loss surgery.

The chip is attached to the vagus nerve which plays a role in appetite as well as a host of other functions within the body. Human trials of the implant could begin within three years, say its makers.

The chip will tell the brain don’t eat any more – the gut’s full of food and you don’t need to eat any more ” Prof Sir Stephen Bloom

The chip and cuffs are designed to read and process electrical and chemical signatures of appetite within the nerve. The chip can then act upon these readings and send electrical signals to the brain reducing or stopping the urge to eat.

“And as a result of monitoring these signals we can stimulate the brain to counter whatever we monitor. “It will be control of appetite rather than saying don’t eat completely. So maybe instead of eating fast you’ll eat a lot slower.”

He said initial laboratory trials had already demonstrated proof of concept. Prof Bloom, who heads Imperial’s diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism division, said the chip could provide an alternative to “gross surgery”.

Source: BBC

In this video, I discuss the future implications of this technology. At what point do humans become robots if implants are telling our brains how to ‘think’?

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